Shin Kuroi Tsubasa
by Aki Iokua
Summary: Nodoka Saotome has finally met with her son. To help him, she, Ranma, and Akane go to a new location run by an old friend of Nodoka. What new adventures will they get into next? MSN Xover. Part of the name means Black Wing. Prologue's over! Woo!
1. A reader's prologue

The reader's prologue

The reader's prologue

Yo! How's everyone doing? Well I hope! Sorry for my little, okay, long, break. In my defense things have been quite busy around here, what with my starting college and all. Also my house is being remodeled, so tempers, especially my little sister's (aka the Cookie thief from the intros to my stories) have been quite short. Add that to aging grandparents (all four of them) and you've got a fair indication of how things have been for me. So, without further ado, I present to you: DA DA DAH! My rewritten version of Shin Kuroi Tsubasa! Yay! You'll notice I'll have made some changes to the story (and re written how I want the plot to go).

Sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, my readers, and I hope you will not be too disappointed with this. Yosh Hajime yo!

P.S. I don't own anything but the plot and OCs. But I wish I owned an Xbox 360.

It was that awkward time again. The time when the seasons were changing. Spring warming into Summer, Summer flashing to Autumn, Autumn freezing to Winter, that sort of thing. Right now, it was the most violent of those changes, when Winter thawed into Spring. The day was clear and crisp, the sun shining, and the wind still with the bite of cold. It was you-wear-a-jacket-out-but get-too-hot-with-it-on-then-too-cold-when-you-take-it-off weather. Still, despite the chill wind, the shining sun, and the clear and the crisp day, there she sat.

She was nestled near the top of the gigantic tree, her back against the trunk, her knees drawn to her chest as she stared at an empty book in front of her. The girl was a shy, quiet beauty, one of those jewels that sit on the sidelines, waiting for something. This particular jewel's eyes widened with a look of pleasant surprise as lines began to scroll along the pages, turning over to a new page as each one filled before finally closing after the writing stopped. Unable to suppress a gasp of excitement, the girl grabbed the book and held it at face level, her hands trembling slightly.

Finally she couldn't contain it any longer. Opening the book, she began to flip through the pages, her eyes rapidly scanning until she came to the place she was looking for. Greedily she drank in the words, and smiled, a wide glowing smile, and looked out towards the city, beautiful in the golden light of noon.

"Looks like it's started." She murmured, still smiling. "I guess things are going to be a lot more fun."


	2. A New Beginning

A New Beginning

A New Beginning

Anything retaining to Ranma ½ or Negima is being used without the permission of the respective owners. I am but a humble college freshman with no relation to either creator save my love of their works (and in Ken's case, appreciation of his neko mimi maido wife! XD). Layman's terms: Don't sue!

"Yo!" Spoken speech

_Oi!_ Thoughts

0Genma smells like-Hey! Who writes these things?!0 Panda signs

Tokyo Japan, Nerima ward

From the air, Nerima almost looked like a normal ward. There were no bodies, pig tailed or otherwise, attempting to earn frequent flier miles, no large explosions of various colored energy, and, amazingly enough, not a single crater nor a plume of smoke. Today, there were no fights, save the ones between husband and wife, sibling and sibling, parent and child. Normal fights, normal dramas, a normal day.

And the events that were unfolding in the house of Soun Tendo could also be considered normal. Normal that is, until one looked at the distinctly **un**normal cause for said events.

"You've really done it this time, you old idiot." Ranma growled. Right now, Ranma Saotome was not happy. In fact, she was as far from happy as you could get, and the one responsible for her lack of happiness was currently quivering at her feet.

0You ungrateful son!0 Genma signed. 0Everything I did was to make a strong, no, a Man amongst Men! How dare you treat me like this?!0

"Oh I dare." Ranma said as she grabbed her panda of a father by the loose fur underneath his chin and hoisting him up until they were both face to face. "Everything was to make me a man among men?! Hah! The Cat fist? Jusenkyo? You call what you've done to me training?!"

0W-well, there may have been a few small mishaps, but nothing that stops you from-0

"MISHAPS?!" Ranma shrieked, not noticing as Genma's eyes widened and he started to notion for her to stop. "Of course you'd see everything as a mishap! After all, it doesn't matter if I freeze up whenever I see a c-c-cat! After all it doesn't matter that I turn into a girl! After all it doesn't matter when a Man amongst Men is forced to lie to his own Mother!"

"Well. I'm certainly glad you feel that way Ranma."

At the sound of that voice, that voice that was at once yearned for and feared, Ranma froze.

"Please turn around Ranma."

And she did. Slowly, she turned around to face…her mother.

"I, Mo-I mean Aunt, no, um I…" Ranma stammered as she stared at her mother, Nodoka Saotome, with the same expression of frozen fear and horror that one would expect to see on a rabbit when face to face with a hungry mountain lion. Seconds or perhaps minutes or even hours passed as the two of them stood there facing each other, motionless. Looking for all the world like a pair of statues.

Finally Nodoka broke off, bowing her head as if in shame."Please don't look at me like that, Ranma. I know I truly deserve that, but please…I, I just can't stand having my child look at me like that."

Awkward silence filled the room once more, silence only broken by the tiny _plips_ of a mother's tears raining down to the floor. Fidgeting slightly, all Ranma could do was stand there, her mind completely blank at the sight before her.

"Mo-mom, hey. There-there's no need to cry. It's all right."

"No. No it's not all right. I-I let you go! I-I betrayed your trust in me! I'm, I can't call myself your mother."

All of a sudden Ranma's mind, in which any semblance of thought had been bulldozed from the shock, presented a very clear picture of what to do. Which was to go up to her mother and hug her. Stopping in mid-sob, Nodoka looked down at her currently redheaded daughter.

Ranma forgave her. That was the only thought going through her mind. She had been _forgiven_! All the pain, the suffering, the confusion that her child had suffered since they had been separated, the weight of which she had only just now realized. All of it was wiped away.

They were together. That was all that mattered now. And so, her face wet but absolutely glowing, her eyes once more brimming with tears, Nodoka hugged her child. Hugged her like she would never let go.

Translation:

Neko: Cat

Mimi: Ear

Maido: Maid

Long story short, she cosplayed as a cat-eared maid to tell people that cosplay isn't good. I think she was just joking, though.


	3. The Journy's first page

A Journey of a Thousand Miles, Begins With a Single Page

I claim no ownership of Ranma ½ nor Negima. All I can claim is my original characters and ideas. Now some of you may be wondering why I chose to rewrite this. My answer is that I didn't like where the plot was heading in a certain section, so I changed that. Then I changed a character a little bit, and it just sort of snowballed from there. It ended up becoming a mess, so I decided to start over. Now don't panic. I'm making any extreme changes to what I had already put up, but this will be a little different from what I first put up. It just turned out that way when I thought about how to make it better. So if this turns you off, or displeases you, I'm sorry. Please bear with me, and believe me when I say that I am trying to think of how best to help _you,_ the reader, enjoy this humble piece. Saa, hajime!

_Blinking her eyes open, Ranma sat up and stared out at her surroundings. This had to be a dream. After all, there was no place that a gray, barren wasteland under shifting black and orange clouds could exist, right? So this _had _to be a dream._

_Just to be doubly sure, Ranma took her cheek, and pinched it as hard as she could. It hurt._

This isn't a dream.

_Starting, Ranma whirled around, her eyes darting from gray rock to gray rock, looking for any sign of the voice's source._

_Nothing. There was absolutely no sign of anyone but herself. The wasteland was as empty and desolate as it had been when she had woken up. She was completely alone. _

_And so, trapped inside this dream-like location that was not a dream, she waited. How long, she would never know. Thirty minutes, two hours, a year, time meant nothing in that dry, forsaken world. Yet she continued to wait. Finally, the voice came to her._

Well. You can actually be patient. I'm impressed. You headstrong types usually fail when it comes to these things.

_Her brow twitching at the insult, Ranma once again looked around, this time using all of her honed senses in the search. Once again, she concluded that she was the only living thing. Her every effort defeated by whatever was observing her, Ranma sighed and bowed her head. For some reason, her efforts seemed to amuse her mysterious observer, causing the air to grow heavy with its silent laughter._

You wish to see who is doing this? Very well. I suppose I can indulge you.

_Instantly, the feeling that had pervaded the world changed. It was then that Ranma realized just how much the being had been connected to the environment. Not only had it been observing her, it had been shielding her from the oppressive sense of death and loneliness that lay upon the land. Now that it was gone, Ranma truly felt alone, abandoned in that world of dust and death. Then, all of a sudden… footsteps! Coming behind her were the distinct sound of footsteps! Immediately she turned around and saw… nothing. There was nothing! _

_Behind her, the wasteland was as empty as it was in front of her. And yet, the footsteps kept coming, closer and closer. Her eyes flicking back-and-forth, her every sense pushed into high gear, still the mysterious person eluded her. Then, as the person reached her, she felt everything freeze. Everything, from her eyes to the very breath insider her lungs, was motionless, as still as if she were a statue._

Don't worry. I'm just doing this so I can get a good look at you.

_Slender fingers reached beneath her chin, forcing Ranma to look upwards, as if looking into someone's eyes. Even though she knew it was impossible, Ranma tried to make her eyes show every ounce of anger and frustration she was feeling. Somehow, the being knew what she was doing, and chuckled slightly before forcing her to turn left then right._

Yes. Yes you'll do quite nicely.

_Then the figure let go, dropping it's invisible to reveal a person wearing a long, hooded, black raincoat, black pants, and boots. Its face was covered in shadow. Stepping back, the person released Ranma from her frozen state, chuckling as she collapsed, gasping, facedown in the dirt._

What? Are you not able to handle my little technique? And here I thought Ranma Saotome can't lose.

_Gritting her teeth at the insult, Ranma glared up at her tormenter. Almost immediately, that glare turned into a look of astonishment as the figure's outstretched right hand began to glow a black-dark purple. Squatting down, it's glowing hand right next to Ranma's face, it almost seemed as if the figure was grinning._

Be sure to give her my regards.

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With a whoosh, Nodoka Saotome flung the open the windows of what had been her son and husband's room. Smiling as she was greeted by bird song, warm sunshine, and clean, crisp air, she sighed happily. On a day like today, she felt like nothing could possibly go wrong. Of course, that wasn't the only reason she was so blissfully happy. And that other reason, well…

Shaking her head slightly as the other reason began to shift noisily in her futon, Nodoka turned to smile at her child. Almost immediately, however, that smile turned to a look of concern as she saw Ranma beginning to thrash about, sweating profusely and uttering tiny moans. Kneeling down, Nodoka reached out and placed it on Ranma's shoulder.

_A sun-scorched battleground lay in front of her. The earth had been churned into bloody mud and everywhere the eye could see lay broken weapons and mutilated corpses. It was a scene of utter slaughter._

_And at the very center of the carnage, was a girl, no older than seventeen. Dressed entirely in black from her boots to her hooded coat, she wore her hood completely up, shrouding most of her face in shadow. Strands of pure white hair glimmered from within the darkness and the visible skin was pale, almost unnaturally so. Her sword, held in her right hand, was stained a deep, dark crimson._

_Stepping back, almost involuntarily, Nodoka instinctively reached for the hilt of her sword only to grasp thin air. She was unarmed._

_Glaring at the girl, a thousand thoughts crashed through her mind. But the dominant thought was this: _It's her!

_Smirking, the girl turned and started to walk away, ignoring Nodoka's shouts for her to stop. Then, the girl did stop._

_Silence._

_Then, all of a sudden, the girl whirled around._

Snatching her hand away, Nodoka half-leapt half-fell backwards, crashing onto her back. Breathing heavily, her heart hammering away inside her chest, she stared at her hand.

The girl's eyes, the eyes she had seen when the girl had whirled around, terrified her. It was if every single emotion was contained within those piercingly bright blue eyes. And yet…they were lifeless, as if the one staring out of those eyes were nothing but an empty husk.

"Why?" Nodoka whispered, still staring at her hand. "Why did she-?"

"Mnnnmph…Mom?"

Starting, Nodoka stood up and brushed herself off, even as Ranma stared at her, her gaze mostly sleepy but with an edge of concern. Laughing slightly, partly to reassure her child and partly to reassure herself, Nodoka shook her head and said, "Ah, no it's nothing. More importantly, how are you doing? You seemed like you were having a bad dream."

Her gaze still suspicious, Ranma merely shrugged. "I'm fine. I don't really remember what I was dreaming about."

Lapsing into an uncomfortable silence, they remained where they were, neither able to look at the other. Seconds grew into minutes and still they didn't move. Finally the silence didn't so much break, as it shattered. Grinning sheepishly, Ranma patted her stomach as it noisily proclaimed it's displeasure.

Chuckling slightly, Nodoka walked over to the door. "Shall we go down and get some breakfast?" She asked. "If you tell me your favorites, I'll do my best to make them. After all, today's a day to celebrate, right?"

Ranma, her mouth already watering in anticipation, needed no second bidding. As soon as had Nodoka opened the door, Ranma took off like a red-haired rocket, the gusts from her strides rattling the very foundations of the house. Shaking her head at her child's antic, yet smiling all the same, Nodoka turned towards the still open window. Her expression turned somber as she remembered the vision of the girl surrounded by corpses. Lifting her hand to eye level, she stared at, as if trying to find some hidden meaning.

"Hey! Mom, hurry up!"

Startled out of her thoughts, Nodoka sighed and walked out of the room. Just before she slid the door shut, however, she glanced back into the empty room.

"Sonzai…"

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Sorry for the long wait everyone. I've been feeling under the weather, stressed, and just not very well in general. I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner, but I'm not making any promises.

Saa: Now. It's not this moment "now"…its sort of hard to explain. Watch some action anime titles like One Piece and you'll hear it.

Hajime: begin.


	4. Reunion

Chapter 3

Reunion

Why would I own Ranma ½ and Negima? I'm just a poor college freshman. I don't even live in Japan (though I'd like to)! Please don't sue me, I need every cent I need right now. On a happier note, Yay, I'm at the big eighteen!

"Hey." Spoken words

_Oi._ Thoughts

0I'm a panda.0 Panda signs

Humming a meaningless little ditty as she wiped a plate clean, Nodoka couldn't help but smile at her reflection. Ever since she'd been reunited with Ranma, anything and everything made her smile. Being with her child, after years apart, made the world seem fresh and full of happiness. Still…

Whenever she let down her guard, that vision appeared. The girl standing in the middle of a blood soaked plain, it's broad face strewn with corpses. Her bloody, mocking smirk. Her piercing, soulless gaze.

Her face hardening at the memory, she unconsciously tightened her grip on plate, until finally it shattered, it's tinkling drawing her back to reality. Her mind still fogged, she stared at the remains of the plate in her hand and then to the fragments on the ground. Blinking back into awareness, she stooped down to pick up the shards, even as hurried footsteps announced Kasumi's arrival.

"Auntie! Are you okay? I heard a crash and-"

"It's nothing, Kasumi-chan." Nodoka said. "I just dropped a plate, that's all. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Oh, no. I'm just glad you're-oh! Auntie, your hand!" Kasumi gasped, pointing to Nodoka's bleeding right hand.

Astonished, Nodoka glanced down at her hand. Her palm, scratched by the plate shards, was a bright red, stained by the blood oozing out from the wounds.

"Don't worry, I'll go get some bandages." Kasumi said, rushing out of the kitchen. Nodoka barely noticed her leaving. All her attention was focused on her hand. No, not focused, it was more like…more like she was being forced to stare at her blood. Then, without warning, a sword flashed in front of her. For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze and the world shrank to that single sword point, a bright silver surrounded by crimson. Slowly, oh so slowly, the world expanded, revealing the wielder. Clothed in black, her face hidden in shadow, the girl from the dream stood right in front of her.

The girl shifted slightly, allowing her eyes to flash into view. They were just like in the dream: a beautiful icy blue, glimmering with every single emotion known to man, and yet…empty. Her eyes were nothing but a hollow void.

Nodoka wanted to say something, _anything_! She wanted to yell, to rage, to pierce the silent girl with her words, cry, ask her _"why?_"! But she couldn't. Her tongue was frozen, her words jumbled in a clutter at the base of her throat. And so they stayed there, one standing and one kneeling, as silent and still as a pair of statues.

Then, with a bright flash of light, the scenery changed. Glancing quickly, the feelings of unease Nodoka had been feeling before solidified into a frozen ball of fear. This was where _that_ incident had happened. It was as if someone had taken her memory of that time and made it reality again. Everything was as she remembered it, including herself. Once again, she was the Shinmei-ryu's _Suishou Ken_.

Her location was Furikan High School twenty-five years in the past, it's colors inverted due to the spell that allowed the school and surrounding area to be detached temporarily from the main plain of existence that Kimiko had cast. Facing her was the girl, her face hidden by her hood. Blood dripped from her blade onto the still body that lay at her feet.

With a cry of rage, Nodoka charged at the figure, drawing her sword as she did so. Grasping it with two hands, she swung with all her might. The girl, shifting her right arm so that her sword hung vertically in front of her face, easily fended off the attack. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Nodoka swung, again and again, trading grace and technique for sheer, angry, brute strength. Again and again, the girl blocked them, easily countering Nodoka's furious two-handed swings with merely one.

How long she continued to swing, how many times she swung, such things would be impossible to tell. Finally, her breath reduced to ragged gasps, her arms burning with exhaustion, she collapsed, facedown in the dirt. Squatting down, the figure took her right hand and began to squeeze it, causing a small line of fire to spread from her palm down through her arm. Nodoka, her eyes blazing with hatred, slapped her hand away…

…and knocked Kasumi onto her back. Gasping in shock, Nodoka stood up, wobbling a bit, and looked around around. She was in the Tendo family's kitchen. The squeezing sensation had been the bandage being tied around her hand. The girl was gone.

"A-auntie?" Kasumi asked hesitantly, her voice concerned.

"No…no it's-it's nothing, Kasumi-chan." Nodoka said, shaking her head. "I…I'm feeling a little tired."

"Yes, I suppose that could be it. Then, do you want me to help you to your room?"

"No, I'll be fine on my own. Sorry I worried you."

Despite Nodoka's words, or perhaps because of them, Kasumi, watching Nodoka stagger back to the room she was sharing with Ranma, couldn't help but feel like something terrible was happening.

"Kami-sama…Please. Please watch over us."

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Shinmei Ryuu: God's cry style

Suishou: Crystal

Ken: Sword

Kami-sama: God


	5. The page to a new horizen

The page to a new horizon

I claim no ownership over these respective series. So no suing, okay?

Yawning luxuriously, Ranma looked up towards the sky, and laughed. With school finally done, he was experiencing his usual rush of being free. Today, this experience was in an even higher state due to the fact that the entire was school was prepping for finals (Spring Break only being two weeks away).

And so, flushed with the excitement of being out of the torture device they called school, Ranma was nearly skipping along his normal fence top route, his classmate and reluctant fiancé Akane Tendo walking on the street beside him.

"Man, I thought it'd never end. All we did was just review. If they're going to teach us something, at least make it something new!"

Akane just shook her head before casting a withering glance at the pigtailed boy. "You _do_ know it because of people like you that we're reviewing, don't you?"

Stumbling slightly at her tone, Ranma waited until he was out of danger before snapping, "And just what do you mean by that?!"

"It means I don't want my score pulled down because someone won't pull their own weight!"

"Humph! Like I care about your score. Not like being in the top place'll make you sexier."

The atmosphere around them, already brittle from several minor fights they'd gotten into recently, plunged into artic levels, with both parties staring angrily at the other, refusing to give any ground. Eventually, however, Akane sighed, breaking her eye contact as she did. "Whatever. Do what you want. I don't know why I even bothered."

Slinging her bag across her shoulder, she turned and walked away, calling, "I'm gonna head home first. Don't bother following me. I need to study after all."

Ranma, stunned into silence by Akane's surrender, could only watch as the girl disappeared behind a corner. Letting his breath out in an angry whoosh, Ranma dropped down to the street, having found a pebble that he could kick, muttering to himself as he did. "Damn it! What's been with her lately? It's not like I'm trying to make her angry or anything!" Sighing, he continued to amble along, kicking the pebble in an attempt to work off his confusion and anger.

He'd only gone a few feet, however, when the time honored cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!" rang throughout the streets, even as the cry's origin leapt towards Ranma in a blur of yellow and black.

Rolling his eyes, Ranma leapt, almost casually, to the side right before the yellow meteor crashed into the pavement where he'd previously been standing. Tucking himself into a ball as he landed, Ranma rolled out of the splash zone of the rubble thrown up by the impact. Springing to his feet, Ranma quickly assessed the situation.

The opponent? A certain perverted pork chop.

His stance? Crouched low to the ground, with his umbrella out and in a skewering position.

The terrain? Aside from the newly formed crater, a semi-wide street bordered by the fence surrounding the canal on one side, and various buildings on the other.

Bystanders? Next to none, with the majority of them fleeing to a safe distance.

Chance of avoiding a fight? Zero.

And it just had to be today of all days.

Sighing, Ranma relaxed, settling into a ready stance. "So. What brings you here Ryoga? I don't remember getting a challenge, and I'dve figured that you'd be in Okinawa this time of year."

"Don't put me on your level, Saotome." Ryoga growled, swiping angrily with his umbrella.

Ranma laughed at that. "Sure, but what exactly do you think is my level? Some pork-butt who can't even tell where the sun rises?"

"Enough!" Ryoga roared, exploding out of the crater, thrusting his umbrella at his enemy as he did so. Grinning impishly, Ranma leapt backwards, avoiding the weapon. Gritting his teeth angrily, Ryoga thrust again and again, each time growing faster eventually creating the illusion he was thrusting in multiple directions at once. Unfortunately, however fast he attacked, Ranma always reacted fasted, effortlessly dodging every strike. Finally fed up with his strategy, Ryoga swiped with his umbrella, only to gasp as his opponent seemed to disappear. A second later, the boy turned up, balancing one handed on Ryoga's umbrella. Flexing his muscles, Ranma leapt off the umbrella, flipping several times before he landed several feet away from Ryoga.

"Hey, I know you're always 'let's kill Ranma', but do you think we can end this soon? I've sort of had a bad day."

"Get real Ranma. There's no reason I'll you off, especially today, after what you did to Akane!"

"Figured you'd say something like that. Well, in that case-OH CRAP!" This last bit was delivered as Ranma picked up the small chime of bicycle's bell. Whirling around, Ranma immediately let out a grunt that was one part "AUGH!" (from the one person vehicle tat had imbedded itself in his stomach at high speeds), and one part "Oomph!" (due to the very large, very soft, and _very_ familiar somethings that were proceeding to suffocate him).

"Shampoo _soo_ happy to see you again Airen."

Ranma, off balance due to the ecstatic girl clinging to his head as well as the bike protruding from his stomach, collapsed, fortunately giving him the opportunity to extract himself from Shampoo's death (or would that be love?) grip.

"**Cough**! What're you trying to do, kill me? Ack!"

"Shampoo just so happy to be with you Airen. Is Airen hungry? Would Airen like some specialty Ramen?"

"**Saoooooooooootoooooooooomeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!**"

Both the cooing girl, and her unwilling target turned towards the growing rumbling. Ryoga, practically trembling with rage, his aura almost entirely an angry black, stood directly behind the pair, his umbrella raised. Faster than he'd ever done before, he slammed his weapon down directly where the two martial artists had been only half a second before.

"Not only do you make Akane run off crying, but you actually have the gall to flirt with another girl in front of me?!" Ryoga roared, leaping at his nemesis. Fortunately, chains, ropes, and various other objects suddenly wrapped around Ryoga, pulling him away from Ranma. Less fortunately, however, was the fact that those objects heralded the arrival of yet another unwanted guest.

"Saotome! How dare you cuddle with Shampoo like that?!" Mousse (missing his glasses as usual) shouted as he pulled in Ryoga. "I won't let you get away this time!"

Struggling, Ryoga burst out of the ropes. "I-idiot! Put your glasses on!"

"Huh? Oh-" Fishing his glasses out of his robes, Mousse had only time for that much before the Lost Boy's umbrella connected with his face, sending him flying. Unfortunately, Ryoga's unluckiness again reared its head by having the blind Amazon smashing right into Ukyo. Which resulted in Ryoga's face becoming well acquainted with her giant spatula.

Things went normally from there, with all of Ranma's suitors/fiancés (Kodachi having bounded in sometime later) in their usual fight over who was better suited for Ranma, and all of Ranma's rivals (including Kuno) attempting to make him unable to pursue that girl they favored. However, this being Nerima, things went even further downhill as various other rivals, weirdoes, and challengers began to get involved. Within all the chaos, no one noticed Ranma escape.

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"…and that's what happened." Ranma said as he finished his explanation of what had happened.

"Well. It certainly sounds like you had a busy day today." Nodoka commented. "Do these sorts of things happen often?"

"Well, it varies, but, yeah. A typical week would have…now let me see…" Nabiki mused. "At least three fiancé battles, two challenges for Ranma, and one disaster of some sort. So it's actually been pretty quiet since you showed up."

"My, I had no idea. You said something about there being more than one of these 'fiancé battles'? Does Akane participate in these as well?"

"Yep! Of course, it doesn't help matters that these things usual start because of either Ranma or Akane doing something to the other. Isn't that right Sis?"

With both her rice bowl and her chopsticks in danger of snapping, it was clear Akane was in no mood for Nabiki's usual games. "Nabiki, I would highly appreciate it if you would just stop talking!"

"Ooh, scary, scary. What's got your feathers ruffled?"

"Nothing! So just stop talking to me!"

"Really you two! We're eating dinner right now." Kasumi scolded. "Nabiki, as you can see Akane is bothered by something, so please let her be."

"'Kay. Sorry about that."

"And Akane, I can understand that your stress, but that's no reason to take it out on you family."

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!"

"Just one 'okay' is enough."

"OKAY!"

"Jeez, what's eating you Akane? You're even more angry than usual." Ranma said.

"**Oh that is it!**" Slamming down her chopsticks (resulting in said chopsticks shattering of course), Akane practically leapt up and left the room, sparing only a sullen "Thanks for the food." as she did.

There was a brief moment of shocked silence before Kasumi hurried after her sister.

"Uh, what was that all about?" Ranma asked, blinking before noticing Akane's (sizable) leftovers. "Think she'll mind?" He asked as he reached over, eliciting a laugh from Nabiki. Nodoka, however, remained silent, gazing at the door Akane had left by with an unreadable look on her face.

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Several hours later saw Nodoka standing just outside of Akane's room. Reaching out to knock, she sighed and let her hand fall.

"Why is this so hard?" Nodoka asked. "I've done hard things than apologize to my best friends daughter! So…why can't I do this?" Shaking her head, Nodoka knocked firmly on the door, calling, "It's me. May-may I come in?"

For a few, brief, agonizing seconds there was only silence. Then, "…come in."

Taking a deep breath, Nodoka opened the door and stepped in, glancing around as she did. It was better than her expectations. At least all the furniture seemed to be in one piece, and the room appeared to be free of any sort of evidence that it had been subject to the girl's rage. Still, it had been Nodoka's experience that when someone was sitting hunched over on a bed looking (or should that be glaring) at you over a pillow with red-rimmed eyes, it was never a good thing.

"Yes?" Akane asked.

Nodoka slightly taken aback, closed her eyes briefly to calm herself. Opening them, she indicated the bed and asked, "May I sit?"

A nod.

"Thank you." Walking over, she settled on the foot of the bed, close but not too close to the girl. "So. How are you feeling right now?"

Silence.

"That bad I take it?" Nodoka quickly glanced at the girl then back, smiling. "You two really are alike. Kimiko I mean."

**That** got Akane's attention. "I'm…like Mom?"

"Oh yes. Whenever _she_ got mad, she got all pouty, just like you're now." Now Nodoka directed her smile at the girl. "Of course, that's not all that's similar. If I remember correctly, you look just like her, when she was your age."

"I…I look like Mom? Really"

"Yes you do. And what's more, you're exactly the same in your personalities: honest, straight forward, and unflinching in her friends as well as her beliefs."

"But I don't remember Mom ever loosing her temper. And I remember she could actually cook!"

Nodoka laughed a little at that. "True. But, well, not everyone's perfect. In regards to your temper, I guess Kasumi just inherited that part. As for the cooking, I'd try to set a lower goal. Kimiko was a rare genius at cooking. I'm no match for her, even now. Of course, I'd like to think I've gotten a little closer."

"Huh? Wait, are you, are you actually telling me you won't good at cooking? I can't believe that! You're so good! Even better than Kasumi!"

"Thank you for the compliment, but I'm really nothing special compared to Kimiko. All I have going for me is practice. In fact-" Here she leaned in close and dropped her voice down to a confidential whisper. "When I started out, I couldn't even make proper rice balls. One of the kindest things I heard about my cooking was that it would have been better to just pick up a handful of dirt and eat that!"

Both giggled at that, then chuckled, and then finally laughed, long and loud.

"I really must apologize. I never meant to appear to be trying to replace Kimiko." Nodoka said once she caught her breath. "You must think I'm horrible, acting like I did even knowing about your circumstances. Forgive me."

"There's no need, Auntie. I'm the one who let it get to me. After all, it's not your fault that Mom's gone. I should have realized how much it hurt to have someone you cared about gone for so long. So, forgive me."

"Done!" Nodoka exclaimed, holding out her hand, which Akane promptly took. They shook each other's hand and smiled.

"Please take care of me from now on, Auntie." Akane said shyly.

"Likewise." Nodoka said before leaning in close. "May I tell something?"

As Nodoka whispered her secret, Akane's eyes grew wide.

"So, think you're up for it?" Nodoka asked, studying the girl's reaction.

Her eyes shining, Akane nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"

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Whew! Finally done! Sorry it took so long minna! I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner. Anyway, hope you enjoy this piece, and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you celebrate the holiday that is). Anyway, next chapter should get to the actual Negima portion. Look forward to it, kay?


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